Anti-gay beliefs prompt suit

Former vice president of Chase Bank challenges dismissal

Published: Saturday, November 14, 1998

DALLAS (AP) - A former bank vice president sued Chase Bank of Texas on Friday, claiming she was fired for believing homosexuality is wrong.

At a 1996 training session for Texas Commerce Bank, which Chase took over in January, Betty Sabatino questioned a policy protecting employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation, one of her lawyers said.

"She expressed that she had some religious concerns about it," said Kelly Shackelford of The Liberty Legal Institute. "There was some discussion, and she thought that was the end of it."

But later, Ms. Sabatino's supervisor at the bank in San Antonio said she was unprofessional for objecting to the policy, and a bank corporate officials called to suggest that she undergo counseling, Shackelford said.

A month later, Shackelford said, Ms. Sabatino was fired for what the bank called a "lack of confidence in her."

A spokeswoman for Chase Bank of Texas' parent company in New York, Kate Baum, said the bank would not comment because the case is in the courts and involves employee confidentiality. The lawsuit was filed in state district court in Houston, where Chase Bank of Texas is based. It does not ask for specific damages, but accuses the bank of costing Ms. Sabatino lost wages, mental anguish and humiliation. It accuses the bank of "malice or reckless indifference" to her religious views.

Lawyers for Ms. Sabatino, 48, declined to make her available for an interview.

Ms. Sabatino has been unemployed since her firing and has relied on the income of her husband, an accountant, Shackelford said.

Shackelford said he doesn't know whether Ms. Sabatino belongs to a church. "She just believes that homosexual conduct is in violation of scriptural mandates."

The Liberty Legal Institute is a Plano-based conservative organization which represents clients free of charge in religious-freedom cases. Shackelford said the group has represented employees who have been fired for religious behavior, but none for expressing their beliefs.

"We're seeing this an increasing problem. A lot of companies bring in policies on homosexuality and those policies run into people's religious beliefs," Shackelford said.

Ms. Sabatino first filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Texas Human Rights Commission.